During July of this year, about 15 days before the conclusion of the tender for leasing part of the Ulcinj Riviera property, the Karisma company sold on the Internet arrangements for the future Holiday Village hotel, which they announce will be opened in 2018, on the site of the current Ulcinj Riviera Hotel Belvi .
This was confirmed by this company to "Vijesta" yesterday, while the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism is still in a dilemma as to whether the claim about the sale of the arrangement is true.
On Karisma's website, it is written that the hotel for which they sold arrangements for 2018 before the conclusion of the tender is located on Velika plaža, five kilometers from the Old Town of Ulcinj.
"The hotel will open in 2018 with new family rooms with swimming pools, two 'A la carte' restaurants, tennis courts, an adventure park and a full-sized soccer field, not to mention professional childcare," Karisma's website stated.
The arrangements were sold through the renowned tour operator TUI Travel Amber, then his Firstchoice, then Cheap Beach Holidays, specialized in the sale of cheap arrangements, although Karisma promised elite tourism in Ulcinj and megalomaniac investments for 2018 in the first half of this year.
"We are pleased to announce a new member of the First Choice family - Holiday Village Montenegro. Here's everything you need to know about the exciting new hotel, where it is and how you can book to stay there next summer," wrote First Choice blogger Selina Akhtar in a blog post on TUI Amber's website on July 5 this year describing the hotel.
Tourism Minister Pavle Radulović told "Vijesta" that he believes that the Tender Commission, of which he is the president, the Council for Privatization and ultimately the Government have fulfilled their task.
He adds that he also believes that it is not within the competence of any of the aforementioned institutions or bodies to deal with the business policy of the Karisma company.
"If the claim about the sale of the arrangement is true, I think that you can get answers about the motives of such a decision exclusively from its makers, the company Karisma. We do not have any instrument by which we could influence their business policy, just as their business policy cannot influence our decision-making process, so I do not see how all this could have influenced third parties and that in a period when no one knew how much will submit their bids to potential bidders," Radulović said, answering questions about whether Karisma had information in advance that she would be the only and selected bidder in the tender and how they could sell arrangements for 2018 in the "make-up" Belvi Hotel, and whether she thinks that the investor, by conquering and limiting the territory of the existing hotel on the Internet with visual projections, before the conclusion of the tender, somehow narrowed the interest of other investors.
The Karisma Hotels&Resorts consortium was given a 30-year lease of state-owned land with an area of 122.214 square meters on which the complex of the Olimpik and Belvi hotels (Cer, Borik and Avala annexes), a restaurant and other related facilities, owned by the Ulcinj Riviera, is located. The minimum rent is 450 thousand euros per year, and investments from 2017 to 2019 are 16,24 million euros.
Karisma: We consciously entered into a business risk
Karisma, answering questions from "Vijesti", said that they implemented a promotional and sales campaign for the future Holiday Village Montenegro project in Ulcinj, knowingly entering into a business risk and that they are ready to bear full responsibility in case of non-realization, for any reason according to clients. "It is a strategy that is not new, but is part of our business philosophy and that of numerous other companies. In order to realize the full capacity of the hotel, which should be opened in May 2018, the pre-sales campaign, according to the standards of modern hotel business, must start no later than the middle of the current season. Otherwise, there is a risk that all or part of the next season would be lost, which we appreciate would be a great loss for us and for the city of Ulcinj, as well as Montenegrin tourism, which will gain positive tourist momentum in the extreme south of Montenegro with the implementation of this project, where is needed now", they stated from Karisma. They add that this is how projects and pre-sales activities are done all over the world, based on tenders and visualizations. "So, of course, we too, in accordance with our business strategy, did such projects in Croatia, the Caribbean, etc., at our own risk," said Karisma.
The lease agreement was signed on Monday without the presence of the media
Radulović revealed that the contract on the long-term lease of land and facilities of the Ulcinj Riviera was signed on Monday, which the public was not aware of. Radulović claims that the Tender Commission conducted the procedure in accordance with the Law on State Property and the Decree on the Sale and Leasing of Things in State Property.
"After the Government approved the lease agreement at the session held on September 21 and made a decision on the long-term lease of land and buildings of HTP Ulcinjska Riviera, the contract was signed on September 25 in Ulcinj. I would like to point out that several international companies showed interest in the lease in the previous period, and that in the last nine years we have had three unsuccessful tenders. Our goal was to get a high-quality and renowned investor who can fulfill the demanding conditions we have set regarding the management of hotel complexes with 4 and more stars, with demanding investments in (outdated) facilities of this company", says Radulović.
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